'Tis Wondrous Strange!
2 October 2009 • David Cecchetto, Amazon.com
A truly compelling listen, this CD offers an entirely invigorated take on every piece that it includes.
The Cage, in particular, sounds fresh: over the last number of years these works have teetered precariously over the abyss that is their canonization, and it is a testament to the rigor and skill of Dianova that they here sound urgent. Moreover, this sensation is furthered by the decision to follow "Perilous Night" with a new composition that consists in the 'unpreparing' of the piano, drawing the listener away from the often sterile world of acoustic recordings into the physics of a live concert (an accomplishment that also attests to the excellent production value on the disc). That the disc also includes two transcribed pieces, a Satie piece for paper-prepared piano, a work for celeste, and a 'simulated quarter-tone piano version' of "Gnossienne IV" cements Dianova's remarkable achievement: on this CD the piano — in true deconstructive fashion — sounds at once both like a piano and not, and Dianova takes full advantage of the possibilities that take flight from this liminal status.
At once beguiling, focused, and playful, this disc is recommended for anyone seriously interested in the threshold between music and sound... a CD of deconstruction indeed!
